A crash between a mini-van and school bus sent 8 people to the hospital Friday morning. According to the Grayson Sheriff’s Department, the crash occurred just after 7 a.m. CDT when a mini-van, driven by 28 year-old Tarynn L. Dean of Caneyville, struck the rear of a Grayson County School bus, driven by 52 year-old James E. Coffey of Falls of Rough. Both vehicles were headed east on East Maple Street. Dean stated she did not see the bus stopped due to the sun obstructing her view. Two adults and two juveniles in the mini-van were treated at the scene and transported to Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center. One of the adults in the van was later flown to University of Louisville Hospital with facial injuries. A juvenile passenger was also flown to Kosairs Children’s Hospital with multiple non-life threatening injuries. The bus driver and 3 students on the bus were transported to Twin Lakes ER with minor non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the van was cited for Expired Temporary Tag and 2 counts of Failure to Use Child Restraint Device. The Grayson County EMS and the Caneyville Fire Department assisted the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office at the scene. … [Read more...]
Van vs. Bus Sends 8 To Hospital
VW Violates Emissions Regulations
The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday Volkswagen intentionally skirted clean air laws by using a piece of software that enabled about 500,000 of its diesel cars to emit fewer smog-causing pollutants during testing than in real-world driving conditions. The agency ordered VW to fix the cars at its own expense. The German automaker also faces billions of dollars in fines, although exact amounts were not determined. The cars, all built in the last seven years, include the VW Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat models, as well as the Audi A3. The vehicles all contain a device programmed to detect when they are undergoing official emissions testing, according to the EPA. The cars only turn on full emissions control systems during that testing. The controls are turned off during normal driving situations allowing the cars to emit more than the legal limit of pollutants. The EPA called the company's use of the so-called "defeat device" illegal and a threat to public health. The EPA called on VW to fix the cars' emissions systems, but said car owners do not need to take any immediate action. The violations do not present a safety hazard and the cars remain legal to drive and sell while Volkswagen comes up with a plan to recall and repair them. The EPA said VW faces fines of up to $37,500 per vehicle for the violations, a total of more than $18 billion. No final total was announced. California issued a separate compliance order to VW, and officials announced an investigation by the California Air Resources Board. Despite the seriousness of the violation, the EPA said VW will be given "a reasonable amount of time to develop a plan to complete the repairs," including both the repair procedure and manufacture of any needed parts. The EPA said it could take up to a year to identify corrective actions, develop a recall plan and issue recall notices. … [Read more...]
Untested Rape Kit Report Being Released
State Auditor Adam Edelen says a report on untested sexual assault evidence kits in Kentucky will be released Monday in a news conference. The Kentucky State Police laboratory has received a $1.9 million grant from the New York district attorney, which has teamed with the U.S. Justice Department to distribute $79 million nationally to help reduce the backlog of untested rape kits. State police said the money will pay for up to 3,300 kits to be outsourced and for the formation of a task force to focus on policies for automatic submission of the kits. The legislature has directed the Kentucky auditor to determine how many kits were untested at Kentucky police agencies. … [Read more...]
Bell County Magistrate Dies After Seizures
Authorities are investigating the death of a Bell County magistrate, who had been jailed after police said he tried to arrange to have another person killed. Kentucky State Police said 51-year-old Ricky Goodin died Saturday morning at Pineville Community Hospital. A preliminary investigation shows Goodin began having a seizure inside his cell at Bell County Detention Center. Police said he had another seizure at the hospital. Police said no foul play is suspected. An autopsy will be performed by a medical examiner in Frankfort. Goodin, of Pineville, was arrested earlier this month on a charge of solicitation to commit murder. In March, Goodin was arrested on multiple charges after authorities say he sold prescription drugs and methamphetamine out of his pawn shop. … [Read more...]
Funtown Mountain Owner Arrested
Will Russell, owner of Funtown Mountain, was arrested again, this time for wanton endangerment 1st degree. According to Louisville police, Russell intentionally set a fire inside of his home. The fire caused minimal damage to the home, but it placed the residents inside in danger, according to police. Police said one of Russell's neighbors uses medical oxygen. Police said firefighters responded to the home on an emergency basis, placing them in danger of serious physical injury. … [Read more...]
Man Charged In Night Club Shooting
A Louisville man has been charged in connection to the July shooting at a west Louisville night club that injured eight people, including a pregnant woman and her unborn baby. Kevon Taylor, 26, is charged with eight counts of complicity assault. Online jail records show Taylor was booked into Louisville Metro Corrections on July 27 on a charge of engaging in organized crime and 112 charges of criminal possession of forged instruments. According to the arrest slip, Taylor was in possession of counterfeit bills that he and others used to purchase a TV at Walmart. Taylor's arraignment for the assault charges is scheduled for September 21. … [Read more...]
Several Injured In Wrecks
A couple of accidents sent four people to the hospital Friday afternoon in Meade County. The first accident happened around 3:40 pm Friday in the 1600 block of Payneville Road near New Highland Church involving two vehicles resulting in two juveniles, a four year-old male and a thirteen year-old female, were treated at the scene by Meade County EMS and the airlifted to Kosair Hospital by Air Methods Air Ambulance. One of drivers were taken to University of Louisville by Meade County EMS. The Meade County Fire Department also responded to the scene. A second accident happened around 4:43 pm Friday in the 6300 block of Midway Road when a vehicle ran off of the roadway and overturned. The driver was taken to University of Louisville Hospital by Meade County EMS for their injuries. The Payneville Fire Department assisted the Meade County Sheriff’s Department at the scene. … [Read more...]
Custody Battle Continues For “Off-grid” Family
A custody case highlighting the controversy over "off-grid" families continues to work its way through the courts. Attorney Rick Hardin, who represents Joe and Nicole Naugler, said a hearing on Thursday in Breckinridge County did not resolve the case. He said a disposition hearing was set for early November. Child protection workers removed the couple's 10 children from the family's tumbledown shack in May after an anonymous complaint. The state returned the children in July but retains legal custody. The Nauglers say they haven't neglected their children, but are loving parents who choose to raise them in an "off-grid" lifestyle without public electricity, running water or a flushable toilet. Meanwhile, Hardin said a menacing charge against Joe Naugler has been resolved with an Alford plea, which means he maintains his innocence while conceding there is sufficient evidence for a conviction. … [Read more...]
Federal Funds To Enhance High-speed Internet
A fund created by the Federal Communications Commission will pay AT&T $30 million a year for the next six years to make high-speed Internet available to more than 84,000 rural Kentucky homes and businesses. The Connect America Fund was created in 2011 to expand broadband to rural areas where expansion isn't supported economically. AT&T says it will deliver broadband at speeds of at least 10 megabits per second for downloads and 1 megabit per second for uploads. The FCC said last month that nearly one-third of rural Americans lack access to such service. … [Read more...]
Woman Enters Plea In Trooper Shooting
A woman has pleaded not guilty after police say she was uncooperative during their investigation into the shooting death of a Kentucky state trooper. Ambrea Shanks 18 of Florissant, Missouri pleaded not guilty Thursday in Caldwell District Court in Princeton. Shanks is charged with first-degree hindering prosecution or apprehension. Thirty one year-old Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder was shot to death late Sunday in western Kentucky after a high-speed chase that reportedly started with the trooper pulling over Joseph Johnson-Shanks for speeding. Police say Shanks was in the car with Johnson-Shanks, also of Florissant, Missouri, during the police pursuit. She was arrested on Monday. Authorities say 25 year-old Johnson-Shanks was shot to death by other Kentucky troopers after he refused to surrender. … [Read more...]